Robert "Rob" James Hathaway's Obituary
Robert James Hathaway, Vietnam Air Force veteran, passed away peacefully on January 27, 2025 at the age of 74. He is survived by his devoted wife of 55 years, Deleta Dodson Hathaway, his loving daughter and son-in-law, Kristy Hathaway Iacono and Vittorio Iacono and his three grandchildren, Sofia, Stella and Nico Iacono. He is also survived by his loving brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Dana Hathaway, and many nieces and nephews.
Born in Yonkers, New York on December 8, 1950 to James and Dorothy Hathaway, Robert was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved son, Jace Hathaway, his sister Cindy Hathaway Grout and his niece Trisha Catlett.
Robert served his country during the Vietnam War for six years. He was initially stationed in Thailand where he was an electrician for the B-52 Bombers. After his overseas service, he relocated to Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. where his daughter was born. After his service, Robert and his family moved to Mesquite where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering at the University of North Texas. He worked for many large Dallas area businesses, including Texas Instruments, EDS, and Southwestern Bell, primarily working on mainframe systems. He and his family relocated to Houston for several years for his job at AMF Tuboscope, working on oil pipeline computer systems, but eventually returned to their beloved town of Mesquite, where he and Deleta originally met, were married, and have remained for almost 40 years.
Robert was also committed to charity and had a soft place in his heart for kids. He was a long-time supporter of many charities, but especially St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he donated monthly for years.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 31 at 10:30am at Mesquite Church of Christ, and he will be laid to rest next to his son, Jace, at Restland in after the memorial. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Robert Hathaway’s honor.
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